Travel trailers and other towed vehicles may include one or more power-operated devices or accessories, for example, power-operated awnings, leveling jacks and slide-outs, among others (sometimes referred to herein, individually or collectively, as “devices” or “accessories”), as would be understood by one skilled in the art. Such devices typically can be operated using controls mounted on the vehicle or on the devices themselves, a tethered remote control connected to the vehicle or the devices themselves, or a wireless remote control that could be carried in an operator's pocket, the towed vehicle, or a tow vehicle.
Some such accessories, for example, awnings, leveling jacks and slide-outs, are intended to be deployed only when the vehicle is parked, and not when the towed vehicle is in motion. One way to preclude inadvertent operation of an accessory is to make its controls inaccessible to an operator while the vehicle is in motion. Vehicle-mounted controls, device-mounted controls, and tethered remote controls typically would be inaccessible to an operator with the towed vehicle in motion. As such, it is unlikely that an accessory would be inadvertently operated using these types of controls while the vehicle is in motion. A wireless remote control, however, could be inadvertently actuated while being carried in an operator's pocket or in a tow vehicle while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in unintended deployment of an accessory with the vehicle in motion.
Another way to preclude inadvertent operation of an accessory is to disable it while the vehicle is in motion. An accessory can be readily disabled by disconnecting it (or its power or control circuit) from its source of operating power by opening a circuit breaker or power switch prior to moving the vehicle. Opening a circuit breaker or switch, however, is a deliberate task that the vehicle operator might forget or otherwise fail to perform each time the vehicle is moved.
This disclosure describes and illustrates an exemplary system adapted to selectively output one or more enable and/or inhibit signals that can be provided to an accessory or to its power or control circuits in order to selectively enable and/or disable the accessory's operation. The system includes a motion sensor that determines whether or not the vehicle is in motion, a timer, a time delay override switch and a control circuit that selectively outputs an enable signal based on the state of the motion sensor, timer, and/or time delay override switch, as set forth in the claims appended hereto.